Hugh Freeze didn’t seem happy when he sat down at the podium for Wednesday afternoon’s news conference.

Auburn football had just completed practice No. 6 of preseason camp, and Freeze wasn’t satisfied with how the team performed.

“Had a really good day yesterday. Not as good today,” Freeze said. “You would think we would have a little more energy, I would hope.”

He clarified that Auburn was off on Tuesday and was referring to Monday’s practice as the really good day. The lack of consistency in the team’s effort and performance caught his attention, though.

“I told them just a while ago, if you’re only excellent when people are watching, it’s really not excellence — it’s just performing,” Freeze said. “There were spurts of practice that were really good, and there were others where I think we just kinda got through.

“We’ve got to improve that and make sure that every rep, every day must be stacked in order to win these competitive, close games that we’re gonna be in.”

Media was allowed to watch around 45 minutes of Monday’s practice, but was not granted any access on Wednesday.

Freeze was asked if having bad days like Wednesday was a normal part of camp, or whether it’s a big concern heading into the season. His answer was long, but mentioned some of the factors that affect the ebbs and flows of preseason practice.

“You wish you could sit here and say that’s something you could prohibit from happening because you, as a coach, look at yourself first and say, ‘Why did we not have them ready to have the same energy that we had two days ago?’” Freeze questioned. “Two days ago, it was cloud cover and felt like 68 degrees and you’re inside because it was raining. The juice was a little easier.

“It actually got a little humid today. Not crazy hot, but a little big for us, and we stayed out the whole time. That’s something we hadn’t done yet, which was a good barometer for we probably need more of that to get ready. I think being in this as long as most of us coaches have, you have some of that in fall camp.”

Freeze said the tough days usually come around days 8-10 of camp, meaning it’s happening earlier than usual this year.

“I don’t know if they think they are saving it. Maybe I made a mistake telling them last night in team meeting that these next three days are going to be real,” Freeze said. “This three days is a very physical, tough stretch. Maybe they wanted to save a little in the tank subconsciously.”

In response to the poor practice, Freeze said he’s going to show the difference in performance to the team on film, and preach the saying of, “Excellence starts with a mindset.”

The Tigers will continue preseason camp on Thursday, as just over three weeks remain before Auburn travels to Waco for its season opener against Baylor on Aug. 29.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m